Matt Mitrione (1-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) knows a thing or two about being pigeonholed, and he’s not about to do that to UFC 113 opponent and fellow “The Ultimate Fighter 10″ veteran Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson (4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC).

Mitrione, a former linebacker and defensive tackle in the NFL, got a reputation on the Spike TV series as a difficult-to-work-with brooder that rubbed his teammates the wrong way. Ferguson already had a reputation as an MMA greenie made famous by the good fortune of YouTube.

Six months after the program aired, both continue to grow as mixed martial artists and carve out identities in the UFC. Mitrione says he’s not bothered by his image. All he’s focused on is beating Slice, and do to that, he’s trying to forget all that he thinks he knows about the bearded fighter.

It’s a sport full of people with hot air, Mitrione says, and nothing is worse than taking a competitor at face value.

“People base all kinds of things on assumptions,” Mitrione recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I don’t know what Kimbo’s going to come in there (with); I don’t know what kind of fighter he’s going to be. I know last time he came in, he displayed a little bit of a ground game and a lot of patience and maturity.”

Ferguson, a former street brawler and high school football player, rebounded from a preliminary loss to Roy Nelson on the show to display a more well-rounded game in his most recent performance against Houston Alexander at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale.

However, the fight was a dud action-wise – Mitrione believes Alexander psyched himself out a month prior to the fight – and questions linger about the breadth of Slice’s skills, especially when compared with current UFC heavyweights.

Try as he might not to expect what’s going to happen, Mitrione wants to stand and slug with Kimbo, where most observers believe he’s most dangerous.

“I’ve never seen Kimbo bleed, so I think if you can get in his face and intimidate him, make him bleed, make him taste his own blood … and see how he reacts to it, I think that would be pretty key,” Mitrione said.

“Kimbo has a great camp right now,” Mitrione said. “I’m sure he’s learning every trick of the trade that he can possibly absorb. I’m sure that he’ll come in with some new tricks on how to fight a lefty.

“Knowing how fast he learns – at least from hearing it firsthand from everybody that was his teammate (on the show) – then I have no idea what to expect.”

There’s one thing he’s pretty sure he won’t see in the fight.

“I would be surprised if he comes in with flying arm triangles,” Mitrione said. “I’d be shocked about that.”

Mitrione, a resident of Indianapolis, said he got along with Ferguson inside the “TUF 10″ house. He wanted to fight the star – as most of the cast wanted to – but didn’t share some cast members’ ire about his presence. Mitrione said he’d happily call Kimbo up for a barbeque if he was in town.

All that will disappear on May 8.

Many fans have questioned whether the 36-year-old Ferguson has the time or willingness to develop into a legitimate mixed martial artist. Mitrione isn’t sure about that, either.

“I’ll tell you on May 9,” he said.

But he concedes a win over the superstar could be big for his career. He’s on the promos for next Saturday’s pay-per-view event but not through anything he’s done. A Kimbo KO could bring him some respect as an NFL athlete turned MMA fighter, and perhaps, a new reputation.

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